West Shore Blues: The Best of the Beats

Halloween Superheros Help Westlake Senior Superheros to the Rescue in Westlake!

When a 72 year old man suffering from dementia wandered off from his Lincoln Road home after dark on Oct. 28 in Westlake, investigating officers were suddenly assisted by the appearance of Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl!

The superheros, who were attending a nearby Halloween party, used the powers and abilities which are far beyond those of mortal men to spot him on Park Ave. In the finest tradition of superheroes everywhere, they then assisted him back home.

Pants on Fire! Meth Head Loses His Shorts

Westlake Police report that a possible Meth smoker lost his shorts on Nov. 1 and called for help in a frenzied paranoia.

The bizarre burlesque went down when the 42 year old Bassett Rd. man thought someone stole some of his clothes on Nov. 1 while he showered, report Police.

He was under the influence of drugs and claimed that several street gangs were after him. Police arrived to find a pair of shorts smoldering in the fireplace! Also found was a baggie of meth and a pipe in his bedroom. Both these items, of course, were claimed to be planted by either Westlake Police or gang members. The soaked smoker was arrested for Drug Possession and Drug Paraphernalia.

Imposter Manager Swipes Charge Card at Dave & Busters

A Parma man’s credit card was taken by a suspect posing as a manager of Dave and Busters on Oct. 12. The impostor offered to give the victim a significant discount on his bill due to perceived poor service and then vamoosed with the credit card.

Shortly thereafter, the victim received texts from his bank that there had been 3 illicit uses or attempts at 2 nearby gas stations. The card was declined at the Westlake Get Go station; a $105 purchase at the Bay Village Speedway (see the pix) was successful.

He is described as a Hispanic male 5’5″, balding, goatee, black glasses and called himself “Anthony.”

On the evening of Aug. 15, a Westlake man discovered his credit card was either lost or stolen. It was illicitly used in Strongsville and two locations in Avon that same evening for a total of $1439 in purchases.

The Avon Best Buy provided some CCTV footage of a male suspect entering the store.

Anyone who can ID the faux manager/credit card thief can call Westlake PD at 440.871.3311.

OD on Mulberry Street

Despite the bucolic images conjured by the moniker Mulberry Street Garage, a 32 year old Westlake man was found passed out in his 2006 Kia Sorrento on Oct. 30 in this Crocker Park locale. A hypo and suspected heroin were in the center console, report Police. In his pocket were OVI and Drug Abuse Instrument charge paperwork from the Lorain Co. Sheriff dated Oct. 29. Westlake charges were felony Drug Possession, another Drug Abuse Instrument Charge, and Drug Paraphernalia.

Who’s the Boss?

Who says drunks have control issues? Well, self control maybe. Not so much when an intoxicated 32 year old Farmington Turn man would not let his mom, wife, and kids leave the home on Oct. 29. He also refused to ID himself and so was arrested in Westlake for DCI and Obstructing Official Business.

10-Year Old Driver Speeds Thru I-90 Chase

A 10-year old driver who had reportedly hijacked his mom’s car sped through Westlake along I-90 this morning before eventually being apprehended at Milepost 118 on the turnpike.

According to Westlake Police, ‘A motorist reported at 9:16AM that a silver car driven by an apparent juvenile was being chased by a red car, possibly operated by the juvenile’s mother. 3 Westlake officers attempted to stop that silver car, which failed to pull over and continued westbound.’ Police report the chase took place along I-90 westbound before entering the Turnpike in Lorain County.

‘Speed of the silver car reached as high as 96MPH as it passed through Lorain and Erie Counties. Once it entered the Ohio Turnpike, Ohio State Highway took over the pursuit and 2 Westlake units dropped back; one Westlake unit stayed with the trooper until more OSHP cruisers could be positioned.

At apprx. 0950hrs the juvenile was in the custody of OSHP near the 118 milepost on the Turnpike. No decision on any Westlake charges has been made.

911 Calls received by Police capture the surprise of other drivers.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a car chase going on between a mom and a son right now on the highway. they’re just passing Columbia road exit the kids probably going at least 90, he looks maybe 13,” said one caller.

“There seems to be a child driving a silver infinity with what looks like their mother chasing them down in a red SUV,” called in a second driver. “Swerving in out out of lanes like crazy.”

It is assumed he also failed to pay his turnpike tolls!

Fraud, Foiled!

An employee of a Center Ridge Rd. business caught an email attempt to defraud her employer of $65,000 on Oct. 25. She had sent a legit invoice to a CA company for that amount a week earlier; someone sent a phony one to the same company for the same amount. WPD is patiently awaiting a reply to an inquiry sent to the bank of the fraudster.

Contractor Woes

A Westwood Rd. man and a contractor are at an “impasse” (quote from the contractor) over estimates, work done and not done, ownership of materials, entry into the home to recover tools, and so on. The work began in Nov. 2016 and halted in August 2017. The resident noticed the workers’ tools were gone and suspected that they entered his house to get them around Oct. 26. The City Prosecutor will consider the matter.

Now Hear This

A Detroit Rd. man had recording equipment worth at least $1000 stolen on Nov. 1. He had accidentally left it on the staircase of his apartment building. He suspected a fellow resident; that belief was borne out by his CCTV system. A 30yoa male neighbor was arrested for RSP and on an unrelated WPD traffic warrant. A 35yoa female neighbor was arrested for Complicity to RSP and on a Cuyahoga Co. Sheriff’s Dept. warrant. Lastly, a 33yoa Parma man was arrested for RSP and on a Strongsville PD warrant. All of the stolen equipment was recovered.

Large Charge

A Market woman was notified of an attempt to charge $16,000 to her credit card on Nov. 1. A suspect in AZ was trying to buy a car with it. The transaction did not go through and the card was cancelled.

Grand Theft Kohls Westgate

Police were called to Kohls at Westgate on a report of three females involved in thefts at the store. Loss prevention further advised that they had been in two other times in the past 90 minutes, stealing items. When observed a third time, loss prevention was able to get out on the merchandise floor. Two of the females fled and got into a car, but the third was apprehended with a cart full of stolen merchandise. Officers reviewed video footage and based on the LP officer’s statements and the video, the female was arrested for Grand Theft. The total value of property taken was $1157. The 20 year old female from Cleveland initially misidentified herself. Officers were able to get the correct information and added the additional charge of Obstructing Justice to the theft charge. She was held for an appearance before a judge.

Grim Reaper on “Coffin”berry

Police were alerted to an “overly aggressive” grim reaper in the Coffinberry area during Halloween. The male was reportedly walking up to kids and scaring them, growling at people and chasing them. Auxiliary officers were already in the area and spotted the subject, who then approached and challenged their authority to be there. Two full time officers arrived and the subject continued in his belligerence. He was advised to cease his actions or face arrest for Disorderly Conduct: Persisting. He was watched until he returned to his residence apartment on Lorain Rd.

Fraud

A W 223 St resident reported being a victim of fraud. She stated she checked her bank statement and found three separate transactions totaling near $600 on her account. Checking with the bank, she was told the transactions occurred in California and one via the internet to a site based in London. It appeared that possibly her debit card was cloned and that is how the fraud occurred.

Warrant Arrest

A female who had previously been an inmate in the Fairview Park Jail returned to our department to pick up the property she had left upon her transfer to the Cuyahoga County Jail a week previous. While getting her property, the officer checked her status and found that she had a new warrant from Rocky River PD for Possession of Drug Abuse Instruments. She was placed under arrest and later turned over to Rocky River PD.

Bomb Squad Callout – Mastick Rd

Police were called by a contractor doing work on a foreclosed house on Mastick Rd. He had located what appeared to be unexploded military ordnance, highly degraded, inside the home. Fairview Park officers arrived and observed some very old rifle ammunition as well as a large round, believed to be WWI or WWII era .37 mm ordnance (approx 14” long). Per our officer on the scene, who spent 10 years in the U.S. Army disarming IED’s, this type round was used as anti-air ammunition, as well as used to take out enemy machine gun emplacements.

The Westshore Enforcement Bureau Hazardous Devices Unit was called out for disposal of the ordnance. They responded with the regional Bomb truck and Bomb “Pot”. The ammo and highly degraded explosive round were safely transported to the bomb pot for later disposal.